by bigerne

Created on: August 25, 2009   Last Updated: August 27, 2009

Robert has just been invited to attend a church. This church is big and popular and has a good reputation among his friends. As he walks into the entrance he hears the percussion and accompanying band playing. He wonders to himself for the millionth time about the appropriate music for church services. As he enters the sanctuary he forgets his thoughts and does not remember them until after church. As Robert has wondered, I have also wondered and now I have at least been able to clear up some misconceptions about this topic.

After extensive research and some soul searching I have come to some conclusions about the conditions that Christian music should follow. These are suggestions and they are meant for me and anyone who is truly concerned about church music. I understand that some of the things I write here could infuriate either the right or the left of my church. It is my belief that some clarity is needed on this topic no matter how free the choice may be. There are several questions that I needed answers to. Such as, are there genres of music that can not be used to glorify God? What types of music are supposed to be played in church? What does Ellen White say exactly about music played in church? What theology is right about music, the liberal or the traditional? What line must be drawn between unique and objectionable Christian music? These are the questions that plagued me for a long time and I am hopeful this information can help you as much as it helped me.

The views that are expressed below are from Seventh-Day-Adventist official guidelines and influenced thinking. These are different from regular protestant Christian churches because of a person called Ellen White. Adventists believe that she was given divine inspiration about the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. All her statements are completely backed by the Bible and trusted by myself and all Adventists. Often her words are misquoted and statements are misconstrued to backup any argument against something new or different in the church or establish credibility for a individual viewpoint. Due to this every reader should know that all arguments may contain references to her statements. If you are not an Adventist you may feel uncomfortable reading below this paragraph. However, I have included other research from other places including non-Christian to present a well rounded picture for everyone. Also these views do not necessarily reflect the views of every Seventh-Day-Adventist

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